DEERFIELD, Ill. — The consolidation of chain drug retailing climaxed last month with Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc.’s (WBA’s) acquisition of Rite Aid Corp. In the largest outright purchase of a chain in the industry’s history, WBA agreed to acquire Rite Aid for $9 per share, or $17.2 billion, including debt. The price represents a premium
DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreens Boots Alliance may have to divest up to 400 of the Rite Aid stores it is acquiring to satisfy antitrust regulations, analysts said. WBA is not publicly speculating on how many units it will have to shutter, said chief executive officer Stefano Pessina. “We have analyzed things very carefully,” he said
WASHINGTON — Jesse McCullough, Rite Aid Corp.’s director of field clinical services, highlighted the role of medication therapy management (MTM) in improving the health of seniors in testimony to a House subcommittee. The Health Subcommittee of the Committee on Energy and Commerce was reviewing a plan by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)
WASHINGTON — CVS Health has opened its 1,000th MinuteClinic in the United States. The new MinuteClinic opened its doors late last month in a CVS/pharmacy store on Dupont Circle in Washington, D.C. MinuteClinic is the nation’s largest operator of retail clinics. This year, MinuteClinic is slated to open more than 100 new locations and, by
NEW YORK — After CVS Caremark and two other pharmacy benefit managers announced that they are terminating mail-order pharmacy Philidor Rx Services LLC from their networks, Valeant Pharmaceuticals Inc. said it would also sever ties with Philidor. Philidor has been accused of bolstering sales of products made by the Canadian-based drug manufacturer Valeant. Joining CVS
WASHINGTON — The nation’s most prominent lobbying group for seniors is backing the 2016 federal budget deal reached in Congress. In a letter to Congress praising the deal, AARP’s chief executive officer, Jo Ann Jenkins, wrote, “Your efforts to reach across the aisle and together find sensible solutions to significant problems are appreciated and commended.”
CAMP HILL, Pa. — Darren Karst has been promoted to the combined role of senior executive vice president, chief financial officer and chief administrative officer at Rite Aid Corp. Karst, who joined Rite Aid in August 2014 as the company’s executive vice president and chief financial officer, is assuming the chief administrative officer responsibilities currently
TAMPA, Fla. — Moving ahead with its expansion plans, Benzer Pharmacy has opened its first store in Georgia. The new location, in Greensboro, offers compounding and specialty medications. “Whereas the national chain drug stores offer virtually everything from soup to nuts, Benzer Pharmacy, which is an independent retail chain store, is more of an apothecary
ARLINGTON, Va. — Fox News Channel’s Megyn Kelly will headline the National Association of Chain Drug Stores Foundation Dinner on December 3 in New York City. The media personality anchors Fox News Channel’s “The Kelly File” — the second-ranking program in cable news by viewership. Now in its 17th year, the NACDS Foundation Dinner and
POINT PLEASANT, W.Va. — Lynne Fruth, president of Fruth Pharmacy, recently attended an event at the West Virginia State Capitol Building where she was honored for her company’s commitment to help prevent the sale of drugs used in the making of methamphetamine. Earlier this year, Fruth Pharmacy participated in the “Our Children, Our Future” Policy
DEERFIELD, Ill. — The acquisition of Rite Aid Corp. culminates sweeping change at Walgreens in the space of a little over three years. In linking its fortunes, starting in June 2012, to Alliance Boots GmbH and its dynamic leader, Stefano Pessina, the chain adopted a global outlook focusing simultaneously on scale and efficiency. Its merger
CAMP HILL, Pa. — It’s been an impressive journey for Rite Aid Corp. Not long ago, Rite Aid was a struggling drug chain, laden with debt and unable to keep pace with larger, fast-growing competitors. But today, under a firmer financial footing, the $26.5 billion company stands as a profitable, innovative industry leader, widening its
WASHINGTON — President Obama highlighted the need to change prescribing practices for opioid medications, channel more resources for addiction treatment and facilitate access to naloxone, a drug that helps prevent overdose deaths. “More Americans now die every year from drug overdoses than they do from motor vehicle crashes. The majority of those overdoses involve legal
The spectacular is becoming so commonplace that even the most astonishing events in chain drug retailing are assuming a ho-hum characteristic. Nothing new here, even if Walgreens has announced its intention to acquire Rite Aid. Put another way, America’s largest chain drug retailer is intent on combining its fortunes and its future with the country’s
